In the May magazine

May 09 cover

May's Barcelona Metropolitan focuses on ecological issues and celebrates a new ON section

As part of our focus on some of the pressing environmental issues that Barcelona is facing, William Truni headed out to sea to find out the impact that pollution and waste is having on Catalan fishermen in his piece A dead zone.

We are all probably guilty of heading to the supermarket without a reusable bag or shopping-trolley at some time or other, but how bad an effect do plastic bags have on our planet and to what extent is the local government doing anything to curb their use? Stefana Serafina investigates in A plague of plastic.

It's a seemingly endless resource, but in reality, water is a commodity that can face dangerously low levels in the dry Catalan summer months. But what can be done to combat the recent droughts other than shipping in water or diverting rivers? David O'Connor explains the process of desalination in Drinking seawater.

In Going whaling by Simon Newman, you can find out how to see these majestic animals closer to home than you may have thought.

New to the area and still a little unsure of how to meet like-minded people? David O'Connor introduces a new way to meet people that share your interests in Come together, a piece about hit internet site Meetup.com.

This month we are celebrating not only a newly-launched website but also a new look ON section. For ideas about who to listen to, what art exhibitions to visit, venues around town and interviews take a look at our brand new pages.

In keeping with the environmental theme, our vocab spot gives you the chance to brush up on your recycling vocab, while our Q&A section answers your queries on where and when you should recycle.

Our interview is with Michelle Nielson, author of Manifesting Matisse - A Practical System for Reality Creation.

Finally, food writer (and blogger on this very site) Tara Stevens finds Fonda Gaig a delicious but pricey new bistro by Carles Gaig to her liking (A chef's dream), and Tragaluz group open a Chinese addition to their all-encompassing repertoire at La Xina, which is not a bad lunchtime option.